"As we look ahead to the new year, we have both an opportunity and an obligation to find common ground to advance the nation’s interests at home and abroad. We also owe it to the American people to present solutions that address the challenges they face," Ryan wrote in a letter to the president on Monday.

The president must be formally invited by the Speaker to address Congress and typically accepts the offered date.

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Assuming the White House agrees to the date, Obama's last State of the Union speech will come a week after the House has gaveled into session for 2016. The Senate, meanwhile, isn't scheduled to convene until Jan. 11.